This comes via Steve Benen who points us to this delightful bit of business when columnist Dick Spotswood met with Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R) from California:
– Met with Republican Rep. Mary Bono Mack from Riverside County’s Coachella Valley. While a social moderate, Sonny Bono’s widow is a solid conservative. Talked to her about Obama’s $780 billion stimulus legislation. She’s outraged that the plan has “$1 billion wasted on a magnetic-levitation train from L.A. to Sin City” – all at Nevada Sen. Harry Reid’s doing.
After expressing my doubt that the Las Vegas line was actually in the bill’s language, Bono Mack directs her staff to “get him the bill, it’s right there, show him.” A few minutes later, a staffer emerges with a copy and quietly says “it’s not in the bill.”
Of course it isn’t in the bill. And they’ve had the bill long enough to actually know what is in it by now. And so has the media, who keep on cranking out this stupid bit of business. what is in the bill is a pool of money for High Speed Rail. And there are a number designated corridors for HSR activity — and I guess you aren’t surprised by now that the “LA to Sin City” route isn’t there.
Frankly I don’t think that it matters any more if these people get to see legislation ahead of time. They won’t read it. They’ll just absorb their talking points of the day and watch FoxNoise to know what to say. Facts, of course, aren’t needed — especially since our liberal media won’t check on what they say.